Systematic Review of Instructional Methods to Teach Employment Skills to Secondary Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Effective vocational instruction is an essential aspect of preparing students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for the world of work. We systematically reviewed research on instructional methods used to teach employment skills to secondary students with IDD. We identified 56 studies involving 766 participants with IDD. Four intervention approaches emphasized technology or some other instructional stimulus (i.e., self-management devices, video-based, audio-based, picture and tactile-based) and four focused on live instructors (i.e., direct instruction, augmentative and alternative communication, simulation, peer-delivered). Among the 21 instructional methods used within these approaches, performance feedback, device-assisted instruction, response prompting, and community-based instruction were the most common. We address the extent to which these intervention approaches were effective across students, instructional methods, settings, and outcomes, as well as offer recommendations for future research and practice.

Effects of a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities

“…Elements of the training's approach, that is, tailoring to the individual, involving the support network and assisting the transfer of learnt skills to daily life, seem to benefit people with intellectual disabilities. This has already been suggested in previous research (Cavkaytar et al., ; Douglas et al., ; Gilson et al., ; Goldschmidt & Song, ; Hale et al., ; Kuijken et al., ; Young et al., ); however, our study for the first time evaluated a self‐management training in which all these elements were combined and which showed that this is a promising approach.…”

“…To our best knowledge, none of the investigated interventions were generalized to a wider range of people with intellectual disabilities with different self‐management goals. Previous research focused, for example, on prompting (Bouck, Satsangi, & Bartlett, ; Dollar et al., ; Wu, Wheaton, & Cannella‐Malone, ), the use of technology (Cannella‐Malone et al., ; Cavkaytar, Acungil, & Tomris, ; Cullen, Alber‐Morgan, Simmons‐Reed, & Izzo, ; Douglas, Ayres, & Langone, ; Ramdoss et al., ), employment (Gilson, Carter, & Biggs, ; Gomes‐Machado, Santos, Schoen, & Chiari, ) or health behaviour (Taggart et al., ; Wilson & Goodman, ). Most studies presented promising results, but drawing firm conclusions about the effects of self‐management interventions is difficult due to studies’ narrow focus and methodological limitations.…”

“…Most studies presented promising results, but drawing firm conclusions about the effects of self‐management interventions is difficult due to studies’ narrow focus and methodological limitations. However, previous studies emphasized that overall, it is important that interventions are (a) tailored to the needs and personal situations of people with intellectual disabilities (Douglas et al., ; Goldschmidt & Song, ; Hale, Trip, Whitehead, & Conder, ; Kuijken et al., ; Young, Naji, & Kroll, ), (b) that their support network is involved (Hale et al., ; Young et al., ) and (c) that attention is paid to the transfer of learnt skills to daily life (Gilson et al., ; Goldschmidt & Song, ).…”

Perspectives on UK university employment from autistic researchers and lecturers

“…Autistic students have described myriad barriers prior to starting their doctorate. Disabled learners often follow non-traditional paths through education, leading to CVs with gaps around traditional entry qualifications and work experience (Barnham, 2016;Brede et al, 2017;Douglas et al, 2016;Gilson et al, 2017, Sproston et al, 2017Young-Southward et al, 2017). One respondent described school having knocked their confidence.…”

Special Issue on Advances in Single-Case Research Design and Analysis

“…Single-case research designs incorporate experimental methodology originating from experimental and applied behaviour analysis, 1−3 and have played a pivotal role over the last several decades in the development of evidence-based practices for individuals with and at risk for neurodevelopmental disability and behavioural disorders. [4][5][6] Extensive meta-analyses and systematic literature reviews of single-case research have synthesized the effectiveness of intervention practices for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, [7][8][9] and children and youth with behavioural or academic concerns 10,11 as well as across a wide variety of other disabilities or at risk populations, intervention type, adaptive behaviour domains, and settings. Importantly, single-case research designs have provided researchers with a rigorous experimental alternative to nonexperimental AB case series.…”